Christmas on Lily Pond Lane: A fabulously festive, heartwarming romance (a standalone in the Lily Pond Lane series)

by Emily Harvale

  Cathy's brows furrowed momentarily and then she beamed at Mia. 'Oh. I see. That's wonderful. We'll definitely be coming tonight then.'

  'Excuse me,' Leo said. 'Is everyone invited to this evening, or is it by invitation only?'

  'Everyone's invited,' Mia said. 'Provided they want to have fun.'

  'Yes,' Ella said. 'Tell your brother.'

  Leo grinned. 'Tell him what? To come, or not to come?'

  'Ah,' Ella said. 'That is the question. Or something like that anyway.'

  'Hal's great,' Leo said. 'Once you get to know him. I'm not sure carols are really his thing though, but I'll ask him. But if I may, I'd very much like to come.'

  'You may,' Mia said, smiling, as the queue moved forward.

  'Excellent,' replied Leo. 'I'm already looking forward to it.'

  'So am I' said Christy, who had been oddly quiet until then. 'And did you say you have a brother?'

  'I do.' Leo gave her a curious look. 'Do your husbands like carols? Or am I jumping to conclusions by asking about husbands?'

  'I never married,' Christy said. 'And Cathy is a widow.'

  That surprised Mia clearly as much as it did Ella and Leo.

  'My daddy's in heaven,' Daisy said. 'But he watches over me, doesn't he, Mummy? And now my great-grandad's gone there too.'

  Cathy nodded and Mia spotted a tear forming in her eye. 'He does, darling. And he always will. So will Grandad.'

  'I'm so sorry,' Leo said hastily. 'That was a really stupid question. I truly apologise.'

  'No need.' Cathy shook her head but seemed to be avoiding eye contact.

  'I'm sorry too,' Mia said. 'I had no idea.'

  Cathy shrugged. 'That's because I hadn't told you. My husband's been gone for three years now. My grandad died two months ago. I'm still a little raw.' She blinked back her tear and Leo presented her with his handkerchief.

  'Me and my big mouth,' he said. 'I think I owe you more than a sticky bun or two right now.'

  Cathy took the hanky. 'You don't owe me anything. Thank you for this.' She quickly wiped her eyes and then bent down and hugged Daisy. 'Mummy always gets upset when she talks about Daddy, or Grandad, doesn't she darling?'

  Daisy nodded. 'And when Uncle Keith gets cross.'

  'Daisy!' Christy snapped, but she smiled hastily and bent down and joined in the hug, pulling Dylan into it. 'We all get upset sometimes. Oh look. We're nearly first in the queue. Let's get some really yummy cakes for tea tonight, shall we?'

  Daisy nodded. 'And sticky buns,' she said, glancing up at Leo who now had a strange look on his face.

  'Definitely the sticking buns,' he said, smiling down at her before turning his gaze on Cathy, who had paled visibly. 'And I'm paying for whatever else you're having.' Cathy shook her head but he continued: 'I insist. It's my treat for being a jerk.'

  'You're not a jerk,' she said, standing upright and handing him back his expensive-looking handkerchief, while holding Daisy's hand in hers.

  'Keep it.' His smile grew even bigger. 'It's Christmas. And I hope it'll be a very happy one for all of us.'

  'I rather think it might be,' Christy said, glancing from Cathy to Leo and finally to Mia. 'I feel it in my bones.'

  'I'm sure it will be,' Mia said.

  She had no idea who the uncle Keith was that Daisy mentioned, but clearly that black eye that Lori had spotted on Cathy, wasn't given to Cathy by her husband.

  But more important than that, Mia had seen the way Leo had looked at Cathy and the way she had looked at him. From what Christy had said, and the way she had behaved, Christy had seen it too. This was turning into an extremely interesting, and possibly rather eventful, Christmas.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  It started snowing heavily again around two, and by four on Saturday afternoon, all the snow that had melted had been replaced with possibly a few more inches.

  'If it carries on like this,' Cathy said, moving away from the kitchen window and over to the kettle. 'We won't be able to find you, Dylan. The snow will be over your head.' She laughed and ruffled Dylan's curls and Dylan giggled in response. 'Or you, Daisy.'

  'I'm bigger,' Daisy said, extending her neck and back as far as she possibly could while seated at the kitchen table.

  'You're taller, darling,' Cathy corrected. 'And you're both covered in glitter.' She laughed even louder. 'You're supposed to be getting that on the crackers, not on yourselves.'

  'We are, Mummy. But it's sticky, look.' Daisy picked up the bottle of glue, squeezed some onto her hands, threw a handful of glitter over it and then slapped her glitter and glue-covered hand onto the body of the cracker, rolling it around.

  Christy joined them from the hall and laughed. 'You're meant to put the glue on the cracker, Daisy and then sprinkle some glitter over it. Not on your hand.'

  Dylan chortled with delight. 'Silly Daisy.' But she was similarly covered in glitter and glue and, spreading her little fingers wide and holding her hands up in the air, added, 'Silly Dylan.'

  'And silly me for not keeping a closer eye on you,' Cathy said. 'We'd better get you two in the bath. You can't go out covered in glue and glitter.'

  'I've made one for that nice man,' Daisy said, pointing to a cracker brimming over with pink, purple and gold glitter. 'The one who gave us sticky buns.'

  'That's lovely of you, darling. I'm sure he'll be delighted.' Cathy threw Christy a huge grin.

  'He was a nice man, wasn't he, Daisy?' Christy said. 'I think Mummy liked him.'

  Cathy gasped but Daisy nodded.

  'I liked him too. So did Barney.'

  'So did I,' Christy said, walking towards the kettle and standing next to Cathy. Lowering her voice she added, 'But Cathy liked him a lot, didn't you Cathy?'

  Cathy shot her a sideways glance. 'What gave you that impression? I hardly even noticed him.'

  'Are you denying it?'

  'Did you see his clothes? And the ring he was wearing on his little finger? It may have been small and not at all ostentatious but I know expensive jewellery when I see it. His watch alone probably cost more than my car. That thing was solid gold. And his shoes...' She shook her head and whistled. 'You don't get shoes like that on the High Street.'

  Christy smirked. 'Yes. As you said. You hardly noticed him at all. I wonder if his brother looks like him.'

  Cathy tutted. 'Okay, so I liked him. But the last thing I need is another man in my life right now. Besides, he wouldn't be interested in a woman like me. Especially not a woman with my baggage.' She made tea for herself and Christy, who got the milk from the fridge and two cartons of juice for Dylan and Daisy.

  Christy pushed the straws into the juice cartons and handed them to the children, who instantly got them covered in glitter and stuck to their hands. Cathy tossed her a wet cloth and she did her best to remove some of the icky mess, but gave up, shaking her head.

  'It'll come off in the bath.' Christy washed her hands and then returned to Cathy's side and poured the milk into their tea. 'Who said anything about having him in your life? Dogs may not be just for Christmas, but men definitely can be.' She nudged Cathy's arm. 'I saw the way you looked at one another. It's about time you had some fun. And some s-e-x.'

  Cathy gasped again. Louder this time. 'I can't have s-e-x with him. I've got Daisy to think about.'

  'You can think about Daisy and still have s-e-x. Only don't think about her while you're having it. That's just weird.'

  'S-e-x,' Daisy repeated, sprinkling more glitter over another cracker and leaning her head from side to side. 'S-e-x.'

  'Great,' said Cathy, frowning at Christy. 'She'll be repeating that all night now. Daisy, darling. Do you know what that means?'

  'Yes Mummy.' She didn't break her concentration or even so much as turn her head around. 'It means a man and a woman like each other.'

  'That's not exactly what it means, darling. But it's not a word we should say in public until we're older. Okay?'

  'Older like you, Mummy?'

  'Yes, darling.'r />
  'Okay, Mummy.'

  Christy grinned. 'There. Problem over. But I still think you should have some and I'll happily look after Daisy for the night, should you change your mind.'

  'Thanks. But I won't be changing my mind. As much as I'd like to have some s-e-x, I don't think there's much chance of that, this Christmas. Although the same goes for you. I'll look after Dylan for the night.'

  'I might take you up on that. Depending on what the brother looks like. And we'd better get these girls into the bath when they've finished their juice. The carol singing starts in an hour.'

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  'I'm looking forward to this,' Hettie said, smoothing down her red velvet gown and matching coat and adjusting Fred's fake white beard and moustache to make them look as real as possible while he fixed his long white wig and Santa hat firmly in place.

  Mia and Ella arranged a thick, white fake fur rug around Hettie's knees, and Fred's, and Lori and Franklin secured the massive sack of presents on the back of the red and gold painted sleigh. Mia had bought all the presents. She felt it was the least she could do for the villagers this Christmas. The presents for children were wrapped in colourful paper with glittery snowmen on for the boys and sparkly reindeer for the girls. Teenagers would get the presents wrapped in shiny blue paper for boys and glittery red for girls. The ones for the adults were wrapped in a variety of paper, but the gift tags from Santa were silver for the men and gold for the women.

  Jet and Gill made sure the reindeer harnesses fitted perfectly and wouldn't rub or irritate the friendly beasts, who looked resplendent in their coats of red and gold and the rows of jingling gold-effect bells hanging from their reins. It had finally stopped snowing but the entire village was blanketed in white once more from the heavy snow that afternoon.

  'Are we ready?' Glen said, standing behind the sleigh but in front of several carollers, all dressed in the costumes they wore every year. Most of them resembled characters from a Charles Dickens' novel – the wealthy characters, of course. Ella said that she and Gill were Scrooge's nephew and his wife, but Mia said that she and Jet were more like Poldark and Demelza, because of Jet's black hair and because she liked the name Demelza.

  'That's not a Dickens' novel,' Ella said. 'That's Winston Graham.'

  'I know. I'm just saying that's who we look like.'

  Lori smiled. 'Franklin and I look like Lori Ward and Franklin Grant, dressed up in old clothes.'

  'Yes. We're ready Glen,' Mia said as Toby, who looked rather dapper in his costume, handed out the lanterns containing battery-operated candles and Mia, Ella and Lori, formed a row behind the sleigh but ahead of Glen. Jet, Gill and Franklin formed another row behind their respective partners, with Little M by Jet's side, wearing her Santa hat from Monday night and an additional Santa 'jacket' that Mia had found in town when she and Ella were buying all the presents to go in the sleigh. The men were carrying lanterns in one hand and charity boxes for notes, in the other. The women held lanterns in one hand and with the other, were to take presents from the massive sack and hand them to Hettie to give out along the way.

  Fred switched on the battery-operated lights around the sleigh and with a flick of the reins, the reindeer all trotted from the car park at the rear of The Frog and Lily out onto Lily Pond Lane. The carollers walked behind the vicar and the sleigh and burst into 'Silent Night', which was a contradiction in terms because tonight was going to be anything but silent.

  Crowds of villagers lined the lane, far more than Mia could actually recall living in the village, but the more the merrier as far as she was concerned. She had made sure there were more than enough presents to go around. They were only small gifts, like Christmas-themed socks or ties, bath products, small toys or games and such, but it added a nice touch, especially for the children.

  The procession made its way slowly down the lane, stopping for a minute or so at each cottage. That was just long enough for people to come and put some money into a second, much smaller, plainer sleigh, which was being pulled by a pair of Huskies owned by a friend of Bear's. He had turned up at the very last minute offering his services and Mia and the vicar simply couldn't resist. The Huskies and the second sleigh were at the back of the procession. Everyone was given a present by Hettie, whether they made a donation or not.

  'Christmas is all about giving,' Mia said.

  'Remember that when we go to bed tonight,' Jet replied, leaning over Mia's shoulder, with a wink and a grin.

  Mia tutted. 'You used to say that I was the one who was always going on about sex. Now it's you.'

  He shrugged. 'What can I say? Guilty as charged. And it's your fault for making me fall in love with you. Are you complaining?'

  Mia grinned. 'No. I'm merely stating a fact.'

  When the procession stopped outside Sunbeam Cottage, the Hardmans all stood at the end of the drive, but only Leo was smiling.

  'Hello all,' he said, stepping forward and slipping several notes into the box Jet was holding rather than merely throwing a handful of coins into the sleigh. 'This is simply wonderful.'

  'Yes,' Elizabeth said, from a little way behind him, and tossing a coin into the sleigh. 'It's simply …' Her voice trailed off as her brows drew together and she looked at Hettie, who in turn was staring at Leo, although gawking would be a better word for the expression on Hettie's face.

  'Go and get your present, Leo,' Mia said.

  He laughed and shook his head. 'I don't need a present, thank you. Give mine to one of the children.'

  'You give it to one of them,' Mia said. 'You have to take one.'

  'Okay, okay.'

  He laughed and walked up to Hettie. Her mouth was now wide open and her eyes were virtually bulging in their sockets.

  Leo stood before her but she didn't hand him a present; she merely stared at him.

  Eventually she spoke. 'Hector?' she said, her voice just above a croak. 'Hector, is that you?'

  Mia glanced at Jet. 'There's something wrong with Hettie. She thinks Leo's Hector.'

  'I know,' Jet replied, furrowing his brows. 'But the odd thing is, Leo does look a lot like Hector. Well, what Hector looked like years ago. I've seen photos of him about the same age and believe me, Leo could be his twin. She'll realise in a moment.'

  But she didn't. She continued staring and Leo looked a little uncomfortable.

  'Hello,' he said, holding out his hand. 'My name's Leo. Leo Hardman. I think you have me confused with someone else.'

  Hettie shook her head and Mia stepped forward while Fred slipped an arm around his wife and kissed her on her cheek.

  'You okay, Love?' Fred asked.

  'Hettie?' Mia said. 'Hettie. Are you okay?'

  'Hettie?' Elizabeth Hardman gasped, edging closer to the sleigh. And then, she mirrored Hettie's look of disbelief. 'Hettie! Oh, dear God! I assumed you would be dead by now.'

  'Elizabeth!' Hettie forced her gaze, clearly with some effort, from Leo to the woman standing by his side. 'Well, well. What dragged you back here?' And then once again she stared at Leo. 'Does this mean—?'

  'Yes,' Elizabeth snapped, wrapping an arm around Leo's shoulder and pulling him away. 'This is my son. His name is Leo Hardman. I'd like you to remember that. And that it's the season of goodwill. Perhaps we can … catch up later.'

  'Yes,' Hettie said. 'We should do that.' Her voice was cold, yet emotional.

  'What's going on?' Leo asked, at the same time as Hettie's husband, Fred.

  'Nothing,' Both Hettie and Elizabeth said in unison.

  'Come along, Fred.' Hettie tapped Fred's arm. 'We've got presents to distribute.' She glowered at Elizabeth as Fred coaxed the reindeer forward but her eyes were warmer when they settled on Leo and she turned her head to look at him until Elizabeth pulled him out of sight.

  'What was that about?' Mia asked, having watched Hettie the entire time. She now left plenty of space between them and the sleigh so that Hettie wouldn't hear.

  Ella shrugged. 'Search me.'

&nb
sp; 'Unless I'm very much mistaken,' Lori said. 'I think Hettie and Elizabeth have a mutual past. Or should I say, a mutual person in their pasts. Hettie's first husband, Hector.'

  'Do you mean what I think you mean?' Jet asked, leaning forward to see Lori clearer.

  'I mean that Hettie knows Elizabeth from the past and Hettie thought Leo was Hector, her dead husband. Unless Hector had a brother we don't know about, I'd say there's a very strong chance that Leo's dad may not be the person Leo thinks he is.'

  'Oh. My. God,' said Mia staring from her mum to Jet and back again. 'You mean Hector had an affair with Elizabeth and Leo is Hector's son. But Elizabeth's about your age, Mum?'

  'And older men have been having affairs with much younger women since the beginning of time. Besides, look at me and Franklin. He's thirty-seven and I'm sixty. It works both ways, my darling. I may be wrong, of course. We'll have to wait and see.'

  'Bloody Nora!' Ella said. And she hadn't said that for a long time.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  'What was that about, Mum?' Leo asked, watching the sleigh move forward and seeing the strange, elderly woman still staring at him and the curious looks that Mia and her friends were also giving him.

  'Nothing for you to worry about, my darling boy. But although you meant this with the best intentions, I think perhaps it was a mistake to come here.'

  'She called me Hector, Mum, and she stared at me as if she knew me.'

  'She's old. People lose their minds when they're old. You probably reminded her of someone and in her confused state of mind, she called you by that person's name. Let's not make a drama over something so simple as a case of mistaken identity.'

  'You knew her, Mum. You said her name and she said yours. And you asked her to remember that I'm your son. What did that mean? I know there's more to this than you're saying.'

  Elizabeth let out a sigh of irritation. 'Yes, okay. I knew her once, many years ago. She was a nasty gossip and she made life difficult for me. We never liked one another. That's all there was to it. Now let's go inside. It's bitterly cold out here and this parade is frankly, a joke. Where are Hal and your father? Oh. There they are. Talking to some of the locals. Come along, Leo.'